Body adhering absorbent articles adapted for use as feminine hygiene articles have been previously disclosed. These feminine hygiene articles generally include body adhesive applied to the body-side surface of the absorbent article and are adapted to attach directly to the wearer's skin. However, in some cases, the body adhesive can become contaminated during storage and/or application to the body.
To avoid contaminating the adhesive during storage and before application, the body adhesive is usually covered by one or more peel strips. These peel strips are removed prior to application. The peel strip removal usually involves grasping an edge of the peel strip or a finger tab between the thumb and forefinger and completely removing the peel strip from the absorbent article. Removal of the peel strip consequently exposes the attachment zone and the body attachment adhesive disposed thereon.
Typically, the user then grasps the attachment zone by placing their thumb on the body attachment adhesive and their forefinger on the adjacent shell surface. The product is then positioned and attached to the body. While this traditional product form and method for applying to the body provides suitable function, there are some aspects that can be improved.
For example, the above described donning process can lead to adhesive contamination. Specifically, when the user touches the body attachment adhesive, any oil, lotion, or other contaminates that are present on the skin of the hand of the wearer may be transferred to the body attachment adhesive, which in turn may reduce its effectiveness. Since the donning process frequently takes place immediately after removal of a previously used product and before the opportunity to wash hands, the skin of the hand may also include other contaminating body exudates.
Additionally, previously disclosed body-adhering articles and donning processes may increase the likelihood of errant attachment. Errant attachment is especially problematic because of the size and flexibility of the product and the region of the body where the product needs to be attached. For example, errant attachment may occur if the body adhesive contacts clothing during the donning process or the body adhesive is improperly positioned on the body. Errant attachment may also occur if exposed adhesive folds over onto itself. At best, this requires separation of the attached pieces with some loss of adhesion. At worse, the folded over section cannot be corrected and may result in a product being unfit for use.